Open Source Homeland

Someday we won’t consider any part of this a failure.

Social media play key role in Boulder fire – Lost Remote.

When the Boulder Sheriff’s emergency alert system failed, its emergency operations center asked that residents use Twitter and Facebook to help spread the word of mandatory evacuations, reports the Boulder Channel 1 Blog. The hashtag #boulderfire has become a lifeline of sorts for many looking for the latest information on the fire, as well as people and businesses offering to help evacuees.

Great example of contained, small-scale collaborative map. It’s not really “crowdsourcing” — it’s just a set of 130 people getting info done: Ushahidi.com – Mapping Reports of The Post-Election Crisis in Kenya

Included in a recent story on DHS-sponsored gadgets is something about the National Applications Office, “a clearinghouse for expanded output of imagery to police, border security and other law enforcement outfits”. Despite the reservations of the House of Representatives, this could have a huge trickle-down affect on sparking innovation in private industry (i.e. the non-defense contractor portion of private industry– the web-based mapping companies that are currently driving innovation). The DHS should consider opening up their geospatial data to more than just police departments and state police, but this is moving in the right direction.

Tech wonders on homeland security horizon
In other surveillance developments, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is defending a plan to make broader use of eyes in the sky that, until now, have mostly fed military and scientific needs.

“The use of geospatial information from military intelligence satellites may turn out to be a valuable tool in protecting the homeland,” Democrats on the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee wrote to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff this month.

But they voiced privacy and civil liberties concerns about the scheduled Oct. 1 launch of the National Applications Office, a clearinghouse for expanded output of imagery to police, border security and other law enforcement outfits.

“We are so concerned that, as the departments authorizing committee, we are calling for a moratorium on the program until the many constitutional, legal and organizational questions it raises are answered,” Chairman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and colleagues wrote on Sept. 6.

England is a great hotbed of community-oriented action sites that rely on data to make them go. Here’s Fixmystreet:

What is FixMyStreet for?

FixMyStreet is a site to help people report, view, or discuss local problems they’ve found to their local council by simply locating them on a map. It launched in beta early February 2007.

Can you give me some examples?

Sure. Graffiti, unlit lampposts, abandoned beds, broken glass on a cycle path; anything like that that could be usefully reported to your council to be fixed.

How do I use the site?

After entering a postcode or location, you are presented with a map of that area. You can view problems already reported in that area, or report ones of your own simply by clicking on the map at the location of the problem.

How are the problems solved?

They are reported to the relevant council by email. The council can then resolve the problem the way they normally would. Alternatively, you can discuss the problem on the website with others, and then together lobby the council to fix it, or fix it directly yourselves.

Is it free?

The site is free to use, yes. FixMyStreet is run by a registered charity, though, so if you want to make a contribution, please do.

Built by great people who are pushing the limits in what it means to be involved w/o being a whiner:

built by mySociety, in conjunction with the Young Foundation. mySociety is the project of a registered charity which has grown out of the community of volunteers who built sites like TheyWorkForYou.com. mySociety’s primary mission is to build Internet projects which give people simple, tangible benefits in the civic and community aspects of their lives. Our first project was WriteToThem, where you can write to any of your elected representatives, for free.

Abandoned bicycles – Viewing a problem – FixMyStreet
Reported in the Abandoned Vehicles category by Tom Coady at 16:43, Wednesday

Here’s a primary example of Open Source Homeland— private citizens collecting public data to fill information gaps in government data using inexpensive technology and social networking methodology:

Who is Sick? is a Google Maps mashup of illness symptoms:

• Runny nose (Stuffy nose/Sneeze/Allergies)
• Cough (Sore throat)
• Fever (Chills)
• Head ache (Dizzy)
• Muscle ache (Body ache/Tired)
• Stomach ache (Diarrhea/Nausea/Vomit)

And then the ever-popular “other”. You put in the info anonymously, along with your address, and we’ve all got raw data about local disease patterns. Just like any social networking tool, its real value is in the number of people who submit info, so it’s real utility would be in the event of a pandemic (or maybe just flu season).

Who Is Sick? is a user-powered database of illness symptoms near you.